SOCCER wife Karen Parlour came out of the divorce court this summer with an allowance worth é440,000 for each of the next four years plus two mortgage-free houses.

Her widely-publicised settlement following her split with Ray Parlour, the former Arsenal and England soccer star, caused plenty of controversy.

But the outcome has generally been welcomed by the legal profession. Kim Beatson who chairs the Solicitors' Family Law Association says the significance of the Parlour case was its flexible approach to maintenance to help achieve a clean break.

"We feel that it is very important for divorcing couples to end their financial inter-dependence and the judgment in these cases supports that view."

Brent Wilkinson, partner at BDO Stoy Hayward in Manchester, feels the upshot of the Parlour case is that, in future "big money" cases, courts will be less concerned with an equal division of the assets - such as houses and cars - and determining alimony payments based on need.

"Instead, the focus will be on creating a fair solution in absolute monetary terms. Hence, where the assets are insufficient - as in the Parlour case - to enable a clean break on Day One, the court will take steps to see if one can be achieved a few years on.

"On the principle that prevention is better than cure, these decisions are likely to increase the use of pre-nuptial agreements to provide certainty," he says.

Although "pre-nups" are not binding, the courts have taken the view that an agreement entered into by properly advised consenting parties can be upheld.

Pre-nuptial agreements are growing in popularity and many leading lawyers and financial advisers believe the time is right for them to be given formal legal recognition to help take the stress out of matrimonial disputes and make the divorce process more straightforward.

The online family law website Divorce Online says sales of "pre-nups" rose dramatically last year - by 177 per cent - compared with the previous year.

However, website spokesman Mark Keenan warns that although pre-nups may look attractive, they are not a universal solution.

For couples embarking on second - or subsequent - marriages, or for couples from differing jurisdictions, pre-nuptial agreements may be a sensible choice to allow them to regulate their own affairs, Mr Keenan says.